Shared By The Dragon Clan Complete (24 page)

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

Master Narses was upstairs, in
Conrad’s old bedroom. His gold armor was set up against the wall, and his great
mass filled the entire double bed.

As Stacey and
Zane entered, he seemed aware of their presence, briefly adjusting himself.

“Master
Narses,” Zane began. “I’ve brought my beloved here. I know you said not to, but
–”

Narses waved
his hand. He managed to open his mouth a fraction. “Shouldn’t.”

“I know I
shouldn’t have, but here she is. I need you to tell us what to do. How can we
defeat Narses? There must be a way. We can’t just do nothing.”

Narses
straightened himself. He gave a sickening cough and leaned forward. “Horatio.”

“Horatio?”
Zane stammered. “The real Horatio? Where is he?”

Narses
cleared his throat again. “Mage.”

“The Mage knows?”

Narses
nodded.

Then he shook
his head. “You will fail.”

“Why?” Zane
demanded. “Why will I fail?”

“Because…”

“Yes?”

“Because…”

Narses
trailed off again. The candle on the desk behind him went out.

Zane moved
away from the bed and approached Stacey.

“He’s dead.”

They stepped
outside the room and closed the door behind them. Stacey noticed Zane looked
deeply troubled.

“What happens
now?” she asked.

“Well … I
don’t know,” Zane said. “He said that the only way is to find Horatio. And to
find him we have to somehow get our hands on the Mage.”

“But he said
you’ll fail.”

Zane looked
back at the door behind him. “He did.”

“So what does
that mean?”

“That means
that we can’t defeat him,” Zane said.

A chill ran
Stacey’s spine.

“That means
the only way we can be together is if we keep on running.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

A life on the run. It wasn’t what
either of them wanted. At the same time, it was better than being apart.
Anything was better than that. Stacey let the grim reality of Narses’s dire
prediction sink in, and it didn’t feel good at all. She wanted to challenge it.
She wanted to be able to do something about it herself. They went downstairs
and sat at the dining table to discuss their predicament.

“Is there any
way out of this?” Stacey asked. “Can Quraal be reasoned with? Can you make some
type of peace declaration with him?”

“That is
extremely doubtful,” Zane said. “He is the Dark Dragon. He is simply evil.”

“But if we
found Horatio, we might have a chance to defeat him?”

“Well … that
would be very dangerous to undertake. But it would be worth it because it’s
doable. It’s just that…”

“Narses said
we’d fail.”

Zane shook
his head. “He didn’t say all he wanted to say. It was fragmented. There is a
chance that it isn’t a guaranteed failure. Maybe we just have to do something
differently than we would otherwise.”

“It’s a pity
he’s not here to answer you.”

Zane stroked
his upper lip. “We need to make a decision.”

“I know
that.”

“We run … Or
we fight. Either way we could die.”

Stacey looked
down. She searched herself for the answer.

“You
mentioned that Master Quraal was just one of many Masters.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe it’s
time to talk to the other Masters. Maybe they can tell us what to do. They’ll
want Quraal defeated, won’t they?”

Zane inhaled
deeply. His gaze drifted away from her.

“Master?”

“It’s true,”
he said after a moment. “They might help us.”

“Why
wouldn’t
they? He killed Narses.”

“Dragons are
strange creatures. Whilst the Masters themselves are not evil, they still
respect Quraal’s power more than anything else. If he is to be the most
powerful dragon on earth, they will not interfere with him.”

“But they
still might help you?”

“I believe
so.”

“So what are
we waiting for? Let’s figure out how to get to the otherworld.”

“Okay.” Zane
stood up. “Are you warm enough wearing that?”

“I’m fine,
Master,” Stacey said, standing.

“Good. Let’s
go into town then, shall we?”

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Stacey and Zane never made it into
town.

Dark clouds
had gathered over their would be place in the sky, and now looking out to the
courtyard there was barely any light at all.

They stood
outside the house whilst Zane locked the front door, and then embracing Stacey
underneath his arm they descended into the courtyard.

It was the
sight they least wanted to see. In their courtyard, where they had possibly
conceived their first child, only minutes ago, the appearance of others had
made themselves known. Stacey immediately squeezed Zane’s hand in shock.

“Look,” she
squealed.

Zane looked.
He saw it just as she had.

Around the
borders of the courtyard were the Dragon Guards of Firebound Island, dressed
completely in black.

Zane did not
slow down. He kept walking close to Stacey.

As they made
their way further, a crack in the clouds opened up, and moonlight shone down on
a group of figures standing in the centre of the garden.

Quraal. The
Human Mage.

Jasmine.

Dennis.

Dennis was on
his knees whilst the other three were standing. Jasmine looked absolutely
terrified.

Stacey
screamed as loud as she could.

Zane’s grip
on her didn’t falter. Neither did his stride.

They moved
into the centre of the courtyard where there was barely meters between them and
Quraal.

Whilst Stacey
at first didn’t know why Zane was approaching so boldly this way, she knew one
thing he refused to do in the face of evil.

Show it fear.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

Stillness all around. No wind. No
breeze. Barely any air to breathe at all…

“He’s dead,
isn’t he?” Quraal said, breaking the silence. “Narses?”

Zane nodded.

“You have
nothing now,” Quraal declared. “You have no power. No chance for victory. I was
worried while he was still here. But now, I am not.”

“Just give
him what he wants,” Dennis piped up. “Stop messing around.”

Quraal struck
him across the head so hard he fell over. “DO NOT SPEAK OVER ME!”

“Sorry…”
Dennis whimpered.

“Will you at
least spare the girls’s from this?” Zane asked. “You want me, don’t you?”

“Don’t tell
me what I want,” Quraal whispered.

Zane breathed
heavily. Stacey wasn’t sure if either would suddenly bound into attack.

“You may have
heard,” Quraal continued. “That it is time for war.”

“Against the
humans?” Zane responded.

“Who else?”

“Why do you
need this war? What is there to gain?”

Quraal
grinned. “Everything.”

“And why have
you come here? To kill us? To torment us?”

“I am here
now,” Quraal said, “because I’m giving you a chance. You are still the best
Dragon Warrior among us here, besides myself. I need you to submit to me.”

“How can I do
that?” Zane gasped. “After all the carnage you’ve caused?”

“It is very
simple,” Quraal said. “You have this moment here, to save these people. I will
not harm them. Although, this beautiful one here is to become my bride.”

Jasmine broke
into tears. Stacey was horrified as she watched Quraal attempt to comfort her.
“There, there,” he said. “There, there.”

“How dare you
lay claim on that woman?” Zane shouted. “She does not belong to you!”

“On the
contrary,” Quraal countered, “she now has my seed inside of her. She will have
my children. As your bride will have yours.”

Quraal
stepped forward. Smirking, he circled Zane and Stacey.

“I will give
you the Island,” Quraal said. “I don’t need it. I have the whole world now.
It’s all mine. We’re going to take it from them.”

“How?”

“By force.
How else?”

“Are you just
going to kill everyone?”

“Oh, no. I’d
rather enslave the majority. You could have all the slaves you ever wanted. And
still have your bride, your guards, your Island. I’m offering you everything.”

“I could
never trust you,” Zane declared. “You’re not trustworthy. You’ll stab me in the
back whenever you feel like it.”

“But you
would be my number two. Who is my number two now? The Human Mage? What good is
he compared to you?”

The Human
Mage swallowed. He seemed slightly uncomfortable.

Quraal was in
Zane’s ear. “You submit to me, and it’s all yours. You will be free under my rule.”

Zane looked
down. His eyes met with Stacey’s.

She knew she
wanted an answer from her. But … this was something she could never answer…

“Well?”
Quraal demanded. “Are you with me tonight, friend? Or shall you die tonight?”

Zane was no
longer looking at Stacey. He couldn’t. The shame inside was overwhelming.

Stacey heard
the red sword cutting the grass behind her. It swung round. Swooped through the
air.

Stacey could
feel the dragon that was inside her.

The dragon
that bound Zane to her forever.

And she knew,
within all her heart…

She and Zane
would do anything…

For that
precious baby…

PART SIX

CHAPTER ONE

“I am with you.”

No one had
expected him to say it. While the guards remained silent, the Mage’s eyes
widened and Jasmine’s lips curled with terror. Quraal, who was standing behind
Stacey and Zane, moved slowly around them to meet Zane’s gaze. He had with him
an expression of utter contempt. As if he was disappointed about not being able
to use the red sword he was carrying to cut Zane down.

“You’ll need
to repeat that,” Quraal said. “So
everyone
can hear you.”

“I AM WITH
YOU,” Zane shouted at the top of his lungs.

Stacey didn’t
know what to make of it.

Zane surely
wouldn’t side with this evil dragon…

Quraal put
his arms around Zane and pulled him close to his chest. Stacey heard Quraal
whisper something in his ear, but couldn’t make out what was said.

Quraal
eventually pulled away and then grabbed Zane’s left hand and held it into the
air.

“Zane Hunter,
by my own authority as the King of all Dragons, I reinstate you as the Dragon
Guard Commander of Firebound Island. Let’s have three cheers for Zane.”

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear!

Hear, hear!

“Louder!”
Quraal shouted.

HEAR, HEAR!

HEAR, HEAR!

HEAR, HEAR!

Quraal
clapped Zane on the back and laughed heartily. “So it is done.”

Zane motioned
to Dennis and Jasmine. “What becomes of them now? Need they be kept captive?”

“I already
told you the girl has my spawn in her belly. In time her resistance to me shall
be broken. She will be my Queen.”

“And of her
brother?”

Quraal
stroked his chin. “Is he a friend of yours?”

Zane locked
eyes with Dennis. They both seemed equally perturbed.

Zane’s gaze
shifted to Stacey. She gave a small nod.

“Yes,” Zane
said finally.

“Well then,
what would you have me do with him?” Quraal asked. “Shall he be my servant?
Yours? Should we allow him to go free only to be burnt the same as the rest of
the humans?”

“I’ll take
him,” the Mage spoke up.

Quraal tuned
sharply. “Pardon?”

“If you don’t
want him, but want him to live, I’ll take him.”

“Very well,”
Quraal said. “Unless Zane has any objection?”

Zane thought
for a moment. Then shook his head.

“Good,”
Quraal said.

“What happens
now?” Zane asked.

“I think you
know what happens. The question is are you ready to lead? Or are you ready to
die after all?”

Zane cleared
his throat. Looked to either side of him.

Quraal seemed
puzzled. “What is it?”

“I’m not
comfortable with your battle strategy.”

“Why not?”

“You want us
to fly into the city tonight, at ten, eleven o’clock? And start burning random
buildings?”

“The city
must burn, Zane. It’s the first to go.”

“It would be
better to gather human leaders into one place first. Request a meeting with
them next week, and then we can assassinate them in one go. It will lower their
defenses catastrophically.”

Quraal
stepped forward. “You can have one hour. Make your phone calls. Organize a
Dragon-Human meeting in the city somewhere. But then we fly out. And we burn
everything. Agreed?”

Zane nodded.
“Agreed.”

“Well, we’ll
all be here when you return.”

Zane grabbed
Stacey’s hand and turned back in the direction of the house.

“Not so
fast,” Quraal said. “She stays here.”

Zane turned.
“Why?”

“You know
why.”

Quraal took
Stacey from his clutches and as Zane was forced to turn once more, Stacey
realized their pact, their promise, their vow to stay together forever –

Had been
destroyed before it even began.